1973
by heeyiitspaige
Summary: Jess Mariano is an author, a recluse who published his book- The Subsect- on a whim and never expected to become the next J.D. Salinger. Rory Gilmore is an aspiring journalist whose career has been put on hold because of her relationship and who needs to prove her worth. So she decides to take on the story of a lifetime, no matter the cost. AU Lit, full summary inside.
1. Summary

**_Summary_**

The year is 1973, and after months on the shelves, _The Subsect_ is still the most popular subject of conversation among teenagers. It's author, known to his readers as _J. Mariano,_ is an enigma, whose face and personality remains a mystery to all of his fans. A regular J.D. Salinger, Mariano is sought out by every journalist in the business, but no one knows where to find him and when they do, he refuses an interview.

Enter Rory Gilmore, a young journalist whose work ethic is overshadowed by the fact that she's dating the boss's son. After Logan proposes and then gives someone else in the office a promotion- a promotion that _she_ deserved- Rory decides to leave Hartford and chase the story of a lifetime. She's going to find J. Mariano.

 **Hey guys!**

 **I told you I'd come up with a full length Literati plot, and I did! I'm so excited for this story and I have so much in store for you guys. Shout of to Sabrina for helping me to form this plot and work out the kinks, and to Chantal and Missy for being fabulous. Love you guys!**


	2. Chapter 1

The lights in the train were dim, and the only noise that was heard was the sound of the train itself rattling along the tracks. Most people had fallen asleep as soon as the 11:43 train had left Hartford and stayed that way for the next two hours, but Rory was not one of those people. She couldn't sleep on trains, her small fear keeping her from doing so but today was different. She had too much on her mind to even think about sleep.

It had been over a week since Logan had proposed to her over dinner; it wasn't really romantic, if she were being honest, and his words sounded almost rehearsed (and not in the cute, _you were nervous so you practiced what you were going to say,_ kind of way either). It was robotic, like he was being force fed the words, made to say them with a smile and a charming way that, after two years, Rory could see right through.

If he had proposed before she had started working at the Hartford Courant, Rory probably would've said yes in a heartbeat, overlooking the almost unnatural tone of voice that Logan took when proposing, accepting the ring, and calling her mother to tell her all about it. But since she started working for one of his father's newspapers a little over a year ago, things between them had been strained.

When Rory was working on the Yale Daily News in college, and then at the Stars Hollow Gazette right after graduating, her career and her relationship were two separate, _good_ things in her life. But the day she had been hired to the Courant was the day that Logan was put in charge of it, and the day that their relationship took a turn for the worse.

It was only then that Rory began to notice how Logan didn't see her as an equal, and neither did any of her coworkers; to them she was the boss's girlfriend, who got the job only because of her connection to the Huntzberger name and not based on skill sets. She could hear their whispers and words of accusation when she got good pieces, which lasted a month before she began getting assigned the fluff articles, the shit pieces, the interns work even.

After Rory told Logan that she needed to think about her answer he was off on business, and when he returned a week later (that very morning), he had announced a promotion in the office. For weeks he had been hinting to Rory that she was going to get the promotion, and when he looked at her during his speech about _hard work_ and _dedication,_ she thought she was a shoe in. But then Logan called out a name that wasn't hers, and once again she was disappointed.

Rory broke from the painful and frustrating memories of that morning and looked down at the book in her lap; _The Subsect_ was the most popular book on the shelves, and she had welcomed the obsession with open arms. But she didn't like it because everyone else did, no, she liked it because it was _good._ Great even. One of the best, and probably her favorite at the moment, if not her favorite ever.

The New York Times called it _The Catcher in the Rye reborn,_ and Rory agreed. It was controversial, loud, and written in such a way that readers could not put it down. Everyone wanted to know what happened next, what was going on inside the mind of the—for lack of a better term— _fucked up_ main characters. Rory had read the book more times than she could count, and could probably recite parts of it from memory.

She closed the book, her thumb holding her place as she looked at the simple black cover; the title was written in simple white letters, and under it in a smaller font was written _J. Mariano._ The man behind the genius was a mystery to the world, a true J.D. Salinger at his core. A small smile appeared on her face as she almost _thanked_ this J. Mariano for being a mystery, for giving her a story.

Every journalist wanted an interview with the man who wrote _The Subsect,_ but J. Mariano was an enigma. No one knew where to find him, what he looked like, of Mariano was even his real last name. But ever since the book came out almost nine months ago, Rory had done her research, and eventually she found the publishing house that printed the first 500 copies of the book before a mass producer took over.

With this information under her belt and with the knowledge that once again, Logan didn't believe in her, Rory marched into his office to talk; they discussed the promotion, the proposal, and their relationship. In the end, she had given him an ultimatum. "I have an idea for a piece," she had told him. "It's big. I can't tell you what it is yet, but I promise it'll be big. Let me go undercover, and if I get the story I'll come back, you'll give me the promotion that I deserve, and I'll marry you."

The last part was what made Logan say yes—though he still doubted her abilities—and just hours later she was packed and heading to the Hartford train station. The ride from Hartford to New York was roughly three hours, and during that time Rory read the book, double checked her notes, and proceeded not to sleep. _Sleep is for the weak,_ she told herself. _I can sleep when I have my story._

When the train finally pulled into Grand Central Station, Rory had finished reading _The Subsect_ and even wrote a few notes down in the margins, reminders for questions and underlines for lines she found particularly interesting. She grabbed her bag from under the seat and headed out onto the streets of Manhattan. It was nearing 2 am, so she found the nearest hotel and paid for the night. She left her stuff packed, knowing she'd fine somewhere more permanent in the morning, and headed to bed.

The next morning, Rory woke up around nine with a stiff back and horrible bed head. After taming her locks and putting on a pair of jeans and a sweater, Rory grabbed her duffle bag and checked out. She headed out, Truncheon Books her destination of choice. She attempted to walk it, but discovered that she had no idea where she was going, and decided to take a cab.

The cab ride was fairly long, so she opted to read some of her favorite parts of _The Subsect_ as the driver wove in and out of the New York City streets like the expert he was. After paying for the ride Rory stepped out of the cab and looked up at the building.

It was just how she pictured it: a brown building with big windows, and from what she could see of the inside, lined with books yet quite, almost homey. She smiled to herself, tucking her book deep into her bag and heading inside. The bell above the door chimed and as she stepped in, Rory noticed the place was empty.

She slung her bag further onto her shoulder and walked over to the first shelf, picking up the book that was on display: _A Movable Feast_ by Ernest Hemingway. Rory crinkled her nose as the sight of it, quickly putting it back on the display and shaking her head. She had never been a big Hemingway fan, though she had read much of his work.

"No love for Hemmingway?" A voice called out from behind her and Rory jumped, turning around quickly to see where the voice had come from; there stood a man, around her age, with dark black hair and a crooked smirk on his face. He was leaning against one of the desks with his arms crossed over her chest and Rory let out a breath, her hand covering her heart.

"You scared me," she said quickly and he just chuckled; her eyes cast back to the book when she remembered his question and she shook her head. "I've never understood why everyone loves him," Rory said of Hemingway, turning back to the stranger. "His styles kind of boring and his characters are annoying. It takes me weeks to read one his books where something by, say, Ayn Rand would take me days."

The stranger chuckled once again and pushed off the desk, walking over to her. "Rand? That political nut? You prefer her over Ernest?" he asked as he approached her and she picked up the book once again, ready to defend her case with textual evidence when the book was snatched from her hands. She looked up at him, eyes narrowing.

"If you're going to use the book itself to speak slander on this genius, then you've got to buy it," he said, and Rory looked at him astounded. "Says who?" she asked as he placed the book back on the display, walking over to the desk he had been leaning on and sitting at it. "Says the owner."

Rory froze, cursing herself. Her plan to get a job at Truncheon took a step backwards, but she quickly picked herself back up and walked towards him. "You own this place?" she asked and he looked up at her from what he was working on, nodding his head. "Then you're the man I've been looking for."

He tilted his head. "I need a job," she said, to which he shook his head and looked back down. "I'm a Yale graduate," Rory continued, which seemed to get his attention. "Valedictorian of my high school class, former writer for the Yale Daily News, and I _really_ need this job."

Looking up, the man nodded his head shortly. "Okay," he said, getting up and walking over to another desk, pulling a piece of paper out: an application. He walked back and handed it to her with a pen, to which she walked over to an empty desk and began filling it out.

For name she wrote _Rory Hayden,_ using her father's last name instead of her own to conceal her identity a bit and give her a sense of security. She put her date of birth, education history, and social security number before handing it back to the man. He read it over, pausing, and looking up at her. "No address?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"I just got to the city, this is the first place I came," Rory explained and Jess nodded, writing something down before putting the application in his desk. "There are two apartments upstairs," he pointed to the stairs to the right of him and left of her, she looked at them, and back to him. "The right ones yours."

Rory smiled brightly, dropping her bag down and throwing her arms around the stranger; she normally wouldn't have done such a thing, but the night before the reality of her situation had set in. She was in a strange city, alone, chasing a seemingly impossible story without a clue as to how it would pan out. She had very little money, no place to live, and no job. She feared having to go back to Hartford with her tail between her legs.

The stranger took a step back at the impact of her small yet forceful body against his own, his arms hanging in the air as to not touch her. He wasn't as uncomfortable with the sudden contact as he thought he would've been, which he thought was strange, but brushed it off.

"Thank you thank you _thank you!"_ Rory exclaimed the second their bodies touched, and a few seconds the man grew restless. "We done?" he asked, and quickly Rory pulled away, her smile never faltering. She picked up her bag and threw it back over her shoulder as the man grabbed a key from his desk and led her upstairs to the apartment on the right.

"I'll be in the one across the way," he explained as they entered; it was one room, with a kitchen area, a couch and a bed, but Rory wasn't complaining. Nodding her head she looked over to him, licking her lips. "We can talk about rent and the job and everything later, for now you can just settle in."

"Thank you so much," she repeated and he just nodded, heading over towards the door. "Wait," Rory called and he stopped, turning to her with eyebrows raised. "I didn't get your name."

"Jess Mariano," he said simply and her eyes widened slightly—but hopefully not significantly—as she swallowed a lump in her throat. "Rory Hayden," she said in what she hoped was the same tone and he smirked. "I knew that," Jess said, and Rory let out a breath and nodded. " _Right."_

His smirk never faltered as he headed out the door, closing it behind him. Rory let out another breath and dropped her bag to the floor, running her fingers through her hair and leaning on the counter. _That's him_ she thought to herself, her smile growing to an extreme size in excitement, the anticipation of her piece getting the best of her in the moment; she just hoped he wouldn't show up again before she calmed herself down.

 **Hey guys!**

 **I told you I'd come up with a full length Literati plot, and I did! I'm so excited for this story and I have so much in store for you guys. Shout out to Sabrina for helping me to form this plot and work out the kinks, and to Chantal and Missy for being fabulous. Love you guys!**

 **Anyways, that's it. Please let me know what you guys think! As always, I'm open to any and all suggestions, especially since this doesn't have a 100% concrete, set in stone, never changing plot. I love to include what you guys want to read, and I always give credit where credit is due. R &R, as always.**

 **xoxo  
Paige**


	3. Chapter 2

While Rory didn't have much stuff to unpack (and not much space to unpack into), she spent a good amount of time up in her new apartment after Jess had let her be. The first thing she did was go through the notes she had brought with her, all of which ended up safely tucked into a box with a lock on it. She had hesitated to bring it, but was thankful on her final decision, especially since she was going to be living under the same roof as Jess.

Then Rory put the clothes she had in her duffle bag into the dresser that was in the room and sat herself on the couch. She sighed and checked her watch. 11:37. Jess said they'd discuss everything later, which Rory figured meant after Truncheon had closed for the night. A sigh escaped her lips; she contemplated calling her mom, but instead decided to head downstairs.

As Rory walked from the apartment into the book store she could see that Jess was down there, but he wasn't along like before. Two other men stood with him, their backs to her and their conversation at a normal volume.

"What do you mean you hired someone?" the one with the darker skin asked, his back to Rory and his hands on his hips. Jess sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I don't know man, she came in here begging for a job and I gave it to her," Jess said as if it were the simplest answer in the world. The third man sighed. "We just let Maggie go because we couldn't afford to pay another person, and you just hired this girl off the street?" he said.

Rory had been listening keenly, her body leaning on the wall that shielded her from being seen to hear as best she could, but as she leaned closer to get a better listen her foot got caught and she ended up stumbling, catching herself before she fell but pulling attention towards her.

The two strangers turned to face her quickly and Jess mentally face palmed, his eyes closing for a second and a huff escaping his lips. Rory brushed off her jeans and looked up at the three with a tentative smile. "Uh, hi."

"Guys, this is Rory," Jess said as he walked around them and to her, turning to his friends. "Rory this is Matt and Chris. They own this place with me."

Rory then realized that she was holding in a breath, no intention of letting it out anytime soon. It was quiet in the room before the darker one stepped forward, extending his hand. "It's nice to meet you Rory. I'm Chris. Welcome to the team," he said, and after a second Rory shook his hand. She let out the breath she was holding and offered him a smile. "Nice to meet you too."

Then eyes fell on Matt and the room was once again silent, this time awkwardly. Jess gave him a look, almost begging him to be nice to her, and Rory felt uncomfortable under his judgmental gaze. When Matt finally spoke, however, his attention wasn't directed at Rory.

"Jess, can I talk to you in the office?" his voice was stern, less of a request and more of a demand as the other let out a sigh and followed him into the back office, leaving Rory and Chris to themselves.

"That doesn't sound good," Rory said more to herself than anything, shuffling her feel slightly before hearing a slight chuckle coming from Chris; she looked up at him, a small smile on her face.

Before Chris could talk, however, Jess was almost storming out of the back office with his jacket in hand. "Let's get out of here," he said directly to Rory and she froze, looking at him before looking back to Matt- who didn't look too happy- and then back to Jess.

"Uh yeah," she nodded. "Let me just grab my coat."

Rory ran upstairs and grabbed her jacket before following Jess out into the streets of Manhattan. Her eyes wandered as she witnessed the city in a way she hadn't in years. Jess looked over at her, amused.

"How well do you know Manhattan?" he decided to ask, his hands shoved in his pockets and eyes on her. Rory's head turned quickly and she blushed, which he noticed, and smiled a little.

"I've been here a few times. I saw the Beatles here with my mom," she said and Jess laughed. "What, do you not like the Beatles?" she asked and Jess shook his head. "They're okay," he said simply, and once again they fell into silence.

"A few years ago my Mom borrowed my grandfather's car and drove us in to shop. She couldn't find a good parking place and all the parking lots were a total rip-off, so she kept making U-turns and cutting off taxis and we were being screamed at in so many different languages that we just turned around and drove home," Rory rambled on.

Jess continued to look at her with a look of amusement, unsure what to make of the girl that stood before him. All he knew about her was that she had graduated from Yale, and for some reason came to his publishing house begging for a job. He didn't know where she came from, what her story was, but he was interested in finding out.

"How very adventurous," he said in an almost sarcastic tone and she looked at him. "I'm just saying, I'm not stranger to the Big Apple."

Jess couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips, and in turn Rory laughed as well. She knew the words that left her lips sounded ridiculous but part of her didn't care. She liked hearing Jess's laugh; it made her laugh and made her stomach flip a little bit, something Logan's hadn't done to her in a long time.

When their laughs subsided Rory licked her lips and looked straight ahead. "So where are we going?" she asked, sticking her own hands in her pockets and again looking at Jess. Her head was tilted slightly and he looked at her. "My friend owns a bar just a block up, foods decent and prices are low. Thought you might like it."

Rory's stomach once again flipped and she just smiled at Jess (who returned it with a lopsided smirk) and looked ahead again. The rest of the walk was silent but not uncomfortable, the pair walking side by side and occasionally brushing arms and hands.

When they reached the bar Jess opened the door for Rory and she thanked him, heading inside. It was midday so the place was fairly empty except for a few patrons and a handful of workers. Jess guided Rory over to one of the high tables and they sat, Jess waving over to someone before looking at Rory.

"So Jess has friends. Who knew?" the man spoke, throwing a towel over his shoulder and pulling out his notepad. Jess rolled his eyes and Rory giggled slightly. "Oh put a can in it, won't you Max?" he said and Max smirked. "Sorry, didn't mean to embarrass you in front of the lovely lady," he said.

"Max Gilbert," he offered his hand and Rory blushed, shaking it. "Rory Hayden," she said before Jess butted in. "Rory's going to be living in the other apartment above Truncheon," he said and Max turned to Jess.

"So you'll let her stay there but you won't let me?" Max said, faking offense. " _Rory_ is going to be paying rent, and working downstairs. There's a difference between that and you wanting to stay there for free."

Again Rory laughed and the two men looked at her; Rory looked back from behind her bangs, licking her lips as she smiled brightly. Max decided to drop the topic, shaking his head. "Whatever man. What can I get you guys?" he said.

"Two burgers and an order of fries," Jess ordered for them. "Make it two fries," Rory added. "Do you have coffee?" Max chuckled, writing down their order. "Two burgers, two fries and a coffee." "And I'll have a beer," Jess added and Max nodded.

Rory watched Max walk to the back before she turned to Jess, noticing he had been looking at her the entire time. Once again the blushed, thankful for the dim lighting in the bar as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"What?" Rory asked when Jess didn't take his eyes off of her and he smirked. "Nothing," he said simply before continuing. "So I was thinking about the rent situation, and here's what I'm proposing. $125 a month should be easy enough. We'll pay you minimum wage at Truncheon to make up for the lowered rent, but you should be fine."

"Have I thinked you for that job yet?" Rory asked, not too concerned about paying rent. Logan had set up an account for her for anything she needed, so she knew she would be able to pay whatever he wanted. Jess chuckled. "I think that was evident when you hugged me before."

Rory blushed. "Sorry about that," she said and he shook his head. "Don't. I like your enthusiasm," Jess said as Max brought them their drinks. Rory took a sip of her coffee and watched Jess drink his beer.

"So I've gotta ask," Jess said, leaning back in his chair. "What's a Yale graduate doing begging for a job at my press? I mean, there are so many better publishing companies in this city. Why Truncheon?"

Rory froze for a second; with the quickness of their meeting, Rory hadn't really thought up a back story. She felt panicked, but then she remembered what she had told herself: tell as much truth as possible. It would be easier to keep up the rouse if she didn't have too many lies.

"After I graduated from college I started working for my boyfriends dad," Rory started, licking her lips. "But honestly? I _hated_ it. So I broke up with my boyfriend, quit my job and got on the first train to New York."

"You didn't answer my question though," Jess said. "Why Truncheon?"

Rory sighed. "Truncheon published my one of favorite books," she said, looking up from the table right into his eyes. "When I got to New York I had no idea where to go, but I this book on me, and the address for the publishing house was on the back cover. So I got a taxi and came."

Jess just nodded. Part of him wondered what book he was talking about, considering none of the books Truncheon published were best sellers- _except_ for his. But Jess didn't want to make things weird and assume anything so he just nodded.

Max brought over their food and the two fell into another comfortable silence, eating their food and stealing glances every few seconds. Rory was finished with her burger and fries in a matter of minutes and wiped her mouth before looking at Jess. "You gonna eat all your fries?" she asked and Jess looked at her in awe.

"How?" he asked and Rory giggled, taking a fry. "You should see my mom. I get my iron stomach from her."

Jess once again looked at her in utter amazement, taking a bit of his burger before he was distracted; the sound of a metal cup hitting the floor towards the back door of the bar caught his attention and he looked past Rory, seeing the girl that had dropped it signal at him before heading in the back.

"Rory I'll be right back," he said before pushing his plate of fries towards her and heading to the back. Her eyes followed him and watched as he headed into the back of the bar. She felt confused but turned back around, taking a fry and sticking it in her mouth.

She used this time to think, taking mental notes of how Jess acted, his mannerisms and his quirks, hoping to get a better understand of him as a person soon enough. She also thought of Logan, which she hadn't done properly since she left Hartford, and sighed. The last two years with Logan felt nothing like the last half hour with Jess and she hated it. She was supposed to love Logan, but what if she didn't?

Rory knew she had to call him at some point, let him know she was alive and had a place to stay. But she knew he'd ask questions- questions she wouldn't want to or couldn't answer- and she liked the little bubble she was in right now.

Before her thoughts could really run amuck Jess returned to the table, letting out a laugh. "You finished my fries?" he asked and Rory looked down at the plate, not even realizing that she had eaten them all. She was finally broken from her thought and let out a small laugh, shaking her head.

Jess finished his burger, and when he was done he threw down a few bucks and the two headed out. A question burned in the back of Rory's head, and when they were out in the light she decided to ask.

"So, where'd you head off to back there?" she asked, looking at Jess. His facial expression gave nothing away and he shrugged. "Max needed to talk to me about something," he said. Rory knew that was a lie but decided not to push it.

"He wanted permission to ask you out," Jess continued and Rory looked at him, her eyes wide and cheeks red. "I told him you were way too smart for him and to not even try, which discouraged the whole thing. You're welcome."

Rory's cheeks turned even redder and she pressed her lips together, half embarrassed and half curious. Was he telling the truth?

"You're cute when you blush," Jess said and Rory looked at him, the color of her cheeks never changing color. She almost wished they were still at that bar so he couldn't see it. "You know, _people that can't blush are worthless."_

"Quoting Hemingway are we?" Rory asked, shaking her head. "And here I thought you were better than that, Mariano." Jess looked over at her with a serious expression and she looked at him, curious. "Ernest only has lovely things to say about you."

Rory smiled at him before shoving her hands into her pockets. They walked the rest of the way back to the publishing house in a comfortable silence, Rory's head spinning. She had never felt like this before, not even with Logan, and she wasn't sure how to react.

They reached Truncheon and Jess stopped them, standing face to face with Rory, his hands in his pockets. "I've got to go meet an author, so Chris is going to show you around the store and give you the usual introduction. Matthew should be out doing his thing so you shouldn't have to worry about him. I should be back around four."

Rory nodded and Jess offered her a smile before heading the other way down the street. Her heart skipped a beat and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, running her fingers through her hair before heading into Truncheon.

 **Hello friends!**

 **First, I want to apologize for disappearing. I had all intentions of updating last week as promised but my grandma died, so obviously I had family to tend to and what not. I'll try not to make the whole** _ **not updating randomly**_ **thing a usual thing, because I hate that. But I am sorry.**

 **Anyway, that's chapter 2. Sorry it's a bit boring, it was kind of a filler? I had to establish things and whatnot, so the next few chapters should pick up. I have so much fun stuff planned; we're going to dive into Rory and Jess's pasts because there are some significant differences there. So it should be fun!**

 **Shoutout to Missy for always begging me to update, Sabrina for helping me work out the kinks in the plot, Ari for loving the story and Chantal because I promised her I'd dedicate the chapter to her. You guys are the best.**

 **That's it for now! I'm going to try and post chapter 3 sooner than later as a make up for going awol, but we'll see :)**

 **Xoxo  
Paige**


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